Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on AA. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Alcoa from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $70.00 target price on Alcoa in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Alcoa in a research note on Monday. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $73.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.09.

Alcoa Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Alcoa stock opened at $46.51 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.50 and a 200-day moving average of $59.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.63. Alcoa has a 1-year low of $30.81 and a 1-year high of $84.38.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The industrial products company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by ($0.13). Alcoa had a return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 9.48%.The business had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alcoa will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.23%.

Insider Activity at Alcoa

In related news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 15,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.60, for a total transaction of $790,776.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,841.40. This represents a 28.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.02, for a total value of $35,714.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 74,930 shares in the company, valued at $3,822,928.60. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Institutional Trading of Alcoa

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,528,523,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,655,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $389,621,000 after buying an additional 349,426 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Alcoa by 211.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,254,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $332,338,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247,559 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Alcoa during the fourth quarter worth about $210,874,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Alcoa by 47.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,009,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,258,000 after acquiring an additional 649,693 shares during the last quarter.

About Alcoa

Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) is a global producer of bauxite, alumina and aluminum. Its operations span the aluminum value chain, including bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminum smelting, casting and the production of select value-added aluminum products. The company serves customers in industries such as transportation, aerospace, construction, packaging, consumer products and energy.

Founded in 1888 as the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, Alcoa played a major role in developing the commercial aluminum industry and adopted the Alcoa name in 1907.